“王道”小考

A Philological Analysis of “Kingly Way of Government”

"王道"一词最早见于《尚书·洪范》,在先秦以来古文献中时常出现。该词的本义应当是指"先王之道",所谓先王包括古先王、周王等在内;由于先王之道的理想性,王道到战国时已引申为可指一切理想意义上的为王之道。王道的内容可从外延与内涵两方面看。从外延看,王道与霸道相对;从内涵看,王道指治道,包括推行公道、仁爱百姓、整齐人伦、实现太平、治官有方等。

The term “kingly way of government” was recorded in “Ways of Government” from The Book of History for the first time and was frequently cited in ancient literature since Pre-Qin period. The original meaning of the term is “way of former kings’ government”, and the former kings include the ancient former kings and the king of the Zhou Dynasty. Due to the idealization of the way of former kings’ government, kingly way of government had already been extended as all the ideal ways of government for any king in the period of Warring States. Kingly way of government can be understood from two perspectives： denotation and connotation. In the perspective of denotation, kingly way of government is opposite to domineering way of government; in the perspective of connotation, kingly way of government means way of administering a country, including carrying out justice, loving people, regulating human relations, realizing peace, and being good at managing the officials, etc.